Seizing the moment: Flexible infrastructure and Scotland’s £25.5 m elective care ambition

With over 31,000 more outpatient appointments and day-case procedures delivered between April and September 2025 compared to the same period last year, progress is evident. Yet the message from the front line is clear: to convert funding into meaningful capacity, traditional estate alone will not suffice.

At Vanguard Healthcare Solutions we believe that flexible, modular and mobile infrastructure must play a central role in Scotland’s response to waiting-list pressures. In our experience, when a health board combines investment with agility, strong partnership and rapid deployment, the impact is tangible.

Why this matters now

The funding is explicitly targeted at increasing outpatient and day-case capacity across orthopaedics, dermatology and gynaecology. That aligns directly with the areas where elective backlog remains stubborn. Yet many boards are constrained by existing estate, procurement lead-times, and disruption risks. Flexible infrastructure offers a complementary route: build or deploy additional capacity alongside the “main build” rather than waiting for it.

Evidence from Scotland

A strong example is the case of The Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank. Vanguard delivered a mobile endoscopy facility in June 2021 which operated seven days a week, delivering up to 24 JAG-points per day and with zero downtime, thereby freeing the main hospital to concentrate on other areas. This model of self-contained, high-quality clinical space in a shorter timeframe is highly relevant to health boards seeking to scale quickly.

What flexible infrastructure brings:

1. Speed to capacity – Pre-manufactured modules or mobile units can be delivered in months rather than years, minimising the wait for the benefit of investment.
2. Reduced disruption – Many installations operate independently of the main hospital footprint, so internal services remain undisturbed. (As in the Golden Jubilee example.)
3. Scalability and flexibility – Solutions can be tailored to outpatient, day-case or theatre environments, and can be extended or re-purposed as demand shifts.
4. Value for money and responsiveness – With targeted investment like the £25.5 million, boards must demonstrate rapid return on spend in terms of activity and patient flow. Flexible solutions support that.

Key considerations for NHS Scotland boards

• Establish clear metrics: define what “additional capacity” means for your board in terms of procedures, wait-list reduction, and session utilisation.
• Select infrastructure partners with proven track records in live NHS settings and the ability to integrate clinical staffing if required.
• Ensure planning links with estates, finance and operational teams: flexible infrastructure is not a “nice to have” but a strategic lever.
• Align deployment timelines with funding windows and regulatory requirements: the sooner units are operational, the sooner benefits accrue.

Vanguard's value proposition:

Vanguard Healthcare Solutions has supported NHS providers across the UK and Scotland with mobile and modular clinical facilities. In Scotland, our partnership with the Golden Jubilee National Hospital demonstrates our ability to deliver high-end endoscopy capacity in a fully operational unit that met rigorous quality standards. By working closely with clinical and estates teams we have helped reduce waiting-list pressures while enabling the host hospital to maintain day-to-day operations.

If your board is looking to translate the £25.5 million funding opportunity into tangible additional capacity, we would be pleased to discuss how flexible infrastructure could form part of your solution.

For further information please contact us.